George steck



G. STBCK.

(No Model.)

PIAN.

lPafented Feb. 14, 1893.

Afro/awe mi' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE STEOK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PIANO.

forming part of Letters Patent No. 491,607, dated February 14, 1893. Application filed .Tune 18, 1892. Serial No. 437,164. (No model.)

SPECIFICATION .To all whom it may concern: plain rail or ledge e, placed opposite the rail Beit known that I, GEORGE STECK, of New b. The two hooked ends CZ of the rod d, York city, New York, have invented an Imshould be slightly bent inward (Fig-2) so that proved Piano, of which the following is a the rod is tirmiyheld in place without injury 45 5' specification. to its pitch and so that the natural spring of This invention relates to an improvement the rod will not throw it out of its seat. in stringless pianos and more particularly to In order to tune the instrument, the nuts the mode of secu ring the vibrating rods to the c2, are turned to move the slide c, in or out and back plate, so that they may be readily atto thus put the metal rods d, under the proper 5c 1o tached and that they may be tuned without tension. In this way the rodsare tuned withtwisting. out being twisted. To remove or change the The invention consists -in the various fearods, it is only necessary to move the slide intures of improvement more fully pointed out ward. to relax the tension, and then the bent in the claims. ends of the rods may be readily lifted out of 55 15 In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is their seats.

an elevation of the back plate of an upright In Fig. 5, the slide c6,is made of round form piano provided with my improvement. Fig. in cross section and provided with a groove 2 a longitudinal section thereof taken parallel c5, that is entered by a screw f, passing through to the sounding rods. Figa section on line a tapped opening of the rail Zi. This con- 6o 2o m, Fig. 2. Figt a section on line y,y, Fig. struction, of course, also prevents the slide 2 and Fig. asilnilar section of a modiiication. from turning.

The letter a represents a metal plate adapt- The short spring plates g, shown in Fig. l,

ed to be set into a piano and designed to carry are designed for the production of the higher the sound producing rods. notes and form no part of the present inven- 65 2 5 is a step-shaped ledge or rail provided tion.

with a series of perforations which are of What I claim is:

square or angular shape in cross section (Fig. l. In a stringless piano, the combination of 4). YVithin each perforation there moves a a perforated rail with a perforated slide and slide @,which is of corresponding square shape, with a sound producing rod having a hook 7o 3o so that it cannot turn. At its rear, the slide shaped end that engages the slide, substano, terminates in a screw shank c', surrounded tially as specified.

by a nut c2, that bears against the upper edge 2. In a stringless piano, the combination of of the step shaped ledge l), each step forming a perforated rail with a perforated slide and the seat for one of the nuts. At its lower end with a sound producing rodhaving an inward- 75 35 the slide c, carries anenlargement or head c3, ly bent hook shaped end that engages the that limits the niiotion of Ehe slde and is proslide, substantially as specified.

vided with a per eration c T is perforation is engaged by the upper hook shaped end d, GEORGE Srl ECK of the vibrating or sound producing metal rod Witnesses: 4o d. The lower hook rshaped end d,ot this rod F. V. BEIESEN,

is received by one of the perforations e', of a WVM. SCHULZ. 

